“Seeing the picture of that woman in the advertisement made my blood boil. Unintentionally the words came out of my tongue: Dirty Filthy Woman”. He was narrating with all his enthusiasm to which I was listening in silence. But after this sentence he stayed for a moment and looking at me said:
“Then suddenly I thought of your writings and spontaneously came out of my tongue: May the Lord guide her. This lady doesn’t know what she is doing for a few bucks.”
This gentleman was telling me the story of the change in his behavior. He was very angry with the spread of obscenity in the society and held the media responsible for it. The woman he was referring to was a well-known TV actress and model of the country. She was a pioneer in introducing many inappropriate attitudes towards women’s clothing in TV programs and advertisements. In a shopping center he saw an advertisement of her and there in anger and emotion came out of his mouth the sentence quoted at the beginning.
When there was a pause in his speech, I asked for an explanation as to what was the reason for this sudden change. He replied:
“The point is that I used to hate such people in my previous thoughts. I used to call them anti-Islamic and worthy of beheading with full religious spirit. But after reading your writings, I started to realize that hatred is not the way of Allah and His Messenger (PBUH). In this path people are invited and training is done. The right thing is said. Even if people do not agree, we do not get disappointed with them. A prayer is made for them and the matter is left to Allah.
He paused for a moment and then said:
“But a lifetime spent hating. So it was a habit. The same thing happened that day. The words of a dirty filthy woman came out of my mouth. But the next moment I remembered all this. And then I prayed a lot for this woman before Allah SWT.”
“What difference do you notice between then and now?” I inquired.
“The psychology of hate used to hurt me the most. It was not only harming my body and mind, but was also destroying my faith. I came to know this for the first time that day. Because when I started praying for her after a hateful sentence, I felt so close to Allah SWT that there was no limit. I felt surrounded by angels. For the first time in my life, I realized how much Allah loves His servants. Even those who are disobedient to the Lord, despite their disobedience, there is immense love for them in the heart of Allah SWT. I came to know for the first time what were the feelings of the Messenger (PBUH) of Allah, how he yearned for people.
I don’t know if my prayer will guide that girl or not. But that day I experienced the closeness of Allah, His Messenger (PBUH) and His angels, after which I knew that this is the right path. This is the way of the prophets. This is Allah’s favorite way.”
He kept quiet, so I said that Congratulations on your pure experience. But I assure you that that girl will also come on the right path. Even if she doesn’t, many more girls will stop following this path because of you. Because calling on Allah never goes waste.